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Carnegie Museum of Natural History

One of the Four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh

Nature Lab

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Bugging Out…and Coming Back

From the first blooms of spring through the end of summer, insects (and many other things we often call bugs), are plentiful. They make their presence known at all hours by buzzing along during the day and chirping throughout the night. But where were they all winter? There is no one answer and that is what makes it so fascinating! Let’s take a closer look at where the insects we are seeing now have been hiding.

Flying South for the Winter

When we think of migration, we usually attribute it to birds. However, insects are known to migrate as well. Generations of monarch butterflies from the United States and Canada fly south to Mexico and roost in mountain forests. Different species of dragonflies also migrate. In the US and Canada, adults of migrating species leave for Mexico in the early fall and return in the early spring. What’s really amazing is that the young larvae stick around in our winter creeks and rivers, and hatch into adults in the spring.  

The Next Generation

The end of fall can mean the end of a life cycle for many insects. To keep their species going, they lay eggs in the fall that either survive the cold as larvae or hatch in the spring. This is known as overwintering. Young woolly bear caterpillars find shelter in the cover of decaying leaves and logs or under rocks. Those praying mantises you see in the spring and summer? They hatched from eggs that survived the winter. Mayfly nymphs live in the water, even under ice, and are known to feed and grow all winter.

Yawn…See Ya in the Spring

That’s right, some insects even hibernate. Honey bees will group together in their hive and keep each other warm by slowly flapping their wings to generate heat. Certain arthropods like isopods can even produce a kind of antifreeze known as glycerol that keeps them from freezing. Now that spring is here, it’s the perfect opportunity to observe flowers in a garden, park or street and see what insects visit. You can also note these in the iNaturalist app during the City Nature Challenge.

A Buggy Challenge

How many photos of insects can you take and share on the free iNaturalist app during the 2020 City Nature Challenge, April 24-27.

Let’s Play Bug Bingo!

Get three in a row and you win! Head outside and cross off each insect (or other type of arthropod) that you see, in the order in which you spot it. Give yourself a bonus point each time you snap a picture and upload it to the iNaturalist app (with your parents’ permission!) during the City Nature Challenge that takes place April 24-27! Have socially distant fun with family and friends to see who can get bingo and then collect the most bonus points.

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Make Your Own Thermometer

What’s the first thing you do before going to bed or upon waking up in the morning? For many people, it’s checking the weather. This simple activity sets the tone for the rest of your day. It will determine the outfit you wear, whether you walk or ride the bus and so much more. It can be as easy as checking an app or watching the morning news, but where’s the fun and excitement in that? With a little effort, you can make your very own thermometer that will provide an up-to-the-minute indoor or outdoor temperature, depending on where you leave it.

What You’ll Need

·        A 20 ounce plastic soda bottle

·        A small funnel

·        Water

·        Rubbing alcohol

·        Food coloring

·        Straw

·        Modeling clay

·        Permanent marker

·        Bowl of hot (but not boiling!) water

·        Bowl of ice

Directions

Fill your bottle halfway with 5 ounces (a little more than half a cup or about 150 ml) of water and an equal amount of rubbing alcohol.

Add a few drops of food coloring to the mixture. About 1-3 drops should do the trick!

Now drop your straw into the bottle, but don’t let it rest on the bottom. Doing so will block the mixture from entering the straw. Leave a little bit of room so that the straw can fill. Wrap the modeling clay around the opening at the top of the bottle to create a seal. Do not cover the top opening of the straw. Try and keep the straw centered inside the bottle.

It’s time to calibrate your temperatures. You can use the store-bought thermometer for this. Start at room temperature and look for the highest point of the liquid in your straw. Mark that spot’s temperature on the bottle. Then set the bottle in a bowl of hot (but not boiling!) water and mark that temperature. Lastly, set the bottle in a bowl of ice and wait two minutes. Mark that temperature on your bottle.

Now you have cold, moderate and warm temperatures on the bottle. When you wake up tomorrow morning, use your new thermometer to see what the temperature is like!

So how does this work? 

Well, the warmer temperatures cause the liquids to expand. This forces the liquid up the straw, the same way that mercury moves in a thermometer you would buy at the store. In colder temperatures, the opposite happens and the liquid contracts and slides back down the straw.

Fun Fact

The first medical thermometer was invented by Sir Thomas Allbutt in 1867. It could take a person’s temperature in about five minutes. Do you think you could wait that long?

Learn more with Nature Lab. 

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Stay Connected to Nature with These At-Home Activities

With schools, the museum, and many other places temporarily closed, one thing remains open and available to all – nature! As Rachel Carson noted in The Sense of Wonder, “Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth finds reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.” To keep our connection with nature alive (and kids from getting bored!), we’ve rounded up eight blog posts from Nature Lab that you can do right at home, in your backyard, or at a local park. These activities are appropriate for all ages, but we’ve noted an ideal age group for each activity to help guide you.

First up, make your own Nature Notebook with materials you already have in your house, then head outdoors and start exploring! Make Your Own Nature Notebook (Ideal for ages 8-13) 

While you’re exploring, follow these photography guidelines to capture what you see and document your discoveries. Nature Photography for Kids  (Ideal for ages 8-13) 

You might want to grab a compass to help you navigate! How to Use a Lensatic Compass  (Ideal for ages 8-13)

Finding lots of cool stuff? You can search for mushrooms and spiderwebs in just about any place. Glowing Mushrooms and Pokémon  (Ideal for ages 8-13)  Spiders as Interior Designers (Ideal for ages 6-13) 

Do you love Dippy as much as we do? You can make your own Dippy from things you find in nature! Create Your Own Dippy from Nature (Ideal for ages 6-10) 

And speaking of Dippy, when you head back inside you can make a special placemat for Dippy and invite him as your dinner guest. Dippy Dinosaur Placemat Activity (Ideal for ages 6-10) 

Last but not least, if you are stuck inside on a rainy day, you can make your very own cloud with some simple items you have around the house. Make Your Own Cloud (Ideal for ages 8-13) 

We hope you enjoy these fun activities and keep your connection to nature strong! Be sure to check back for more fun ways to discover the world around us in Nature Lab. https://carnegiemnh.org/visitor/nature-lab/

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Happy Groundhog Day from Nature Lab

A Brief History of Punxsutawney Phil

For the last 133 years, people in the US and Canada have been ignoring the forecast on February 2nd and instead using a rodent to predict the weather. That rodent happens to be a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil. With Groundhog Day 2020 coming up, let’s brush up on our groundhog facts!

Punxsutawney Phil after making his weather prediction. Photo by Alessandro M.

Groundhogs in Their Natural Habitat

Groundhogs are known to hibernate for the winter so when they decide to come out of their burrow, it tends to be a natural sign of Spring.

The burrows this creature makes have impacts beyond protecting the individual groundhog. When a groundhog digs its multi-chambered burrow, it moves nearly 700 pounds of dirt and rocks which mixes the different soil layers. Burrows can measure 65-feet long and have plenty of room to shelter other creatures while the groundhog sleeps away the winter.

Groundhogs are mostly solitary animals and prefer to be alone. That means there are far more burrows than we realize, and each burrow only has one groundhog in it.  

The Groundhog Day celebration in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Photo by Jason Cohn

The History of Groundhog Day

Germans who migrated to Pennsylvania during the 1800s brought a European tradition of watching hedgehogs on Candlemas Day, February 2nd. Hedgehogs hibernate, just like groundhogs, and people would watch how they behaved during a brief break in their slumber to predict spring’s arrival. Because there were no hedgehogs in Pennsylvania, but groundhogs were so abundant, they became the North American harbinger of spring.

In the late 1800s a group of friends went into the woods of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to look for groundhogs, beginning a local tradition that has grown over time to become an annual celebration.  People travel from all over to learn in person whether Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow and predict six more weeks of winter, or whether there will be an early spring.

Punxsutawney Phil’s Fame

Punxsutawney Phil now lives in a climate-controlled habitat that connects to the Punxsutawney Library where he is a local celebrity. Phil gained national fame in 1993 when the movie Groundhog Day came out. Phil’s weather predictions are even recorded in the Congressional Records of our National Archive! He’s known to have seen his shadow 85% of the time, meaning we receive 6 more weeks of Winter. Do you think Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow this Groundhog Day?

Make A Human Sundial

Since Groundhog Day is all about shadows, let’s learn how shadows are made and how they’re influenced by the earth’s rotation. By creating a human sundial, you’ll be able to track your shadow throughout the day and see how the sun changes it.

What You’ll Need

• An open space with nothing creating shadows. We recommend a driveway or parking lot.

• Sidewalk Chalk

• A Camera

• A journal to record your observations

Step One

This activity works best on a sunny day with no clouds or rain. Wait for a nice day then find an open area with cement or asphalt where the sun shines throughout the day.

Step Two

Place an X on the ground where you will stand each time your shadow is being traced. Have your parent or a friend trace your shadow. After they finish tracing, have them take a photo. Make sure to record the time you traced your shadow in your journal. Do this 3-5 times throughout the day.

Step Three

Observe the different outlines of your shadow and how they correspond with the time of day they were traced. What differences do you see in your shadows based on the time of day? What direction did your shadow move?  At what time of day was your shadow the longest and the shortest?  

Fun Fact

Phil’s full name is Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators and Weather Prophet Extraordinary.

Blog post by Megan Jones.

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Biomimicry is Real World Inspiration

We humans are pretty innovative creatures. Our understanding of space, time and our place in nature are beyond that of other animals. But sometimes, we look to nature for inspiration.

Millions of years of evolution have shaped the world around us and created many incredible things. Biomimicry is when we observe a trait in nature and copy it or parts of it for human technology and design. There are numerous examples of biomimicry in action.

A toe-tally awesome way of climbing

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Many species of gecko can walk up smooth surfaces like stone walls and even glass. Scientists studied the pads on the toes of one species, the Tokay gecko, and discovered that tiny, microscopic hairs help them “stick” to surfaces. Who would have thought having hairy toes could have its advantages? By mimicking gecko toes, we have developed adhesives, a way to close wounds without stitches, and more.

Ants may have the answer to traffic jams

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Nobody likes sitting in traffic, not even ants. Have you ever seen lines of ants travelling right next to each other but going in opposite directions? They appear like traffic flowing on a highway, but without rush hour gridlock. Learning how ant columns move can help us improve highway traffic, especially as autonomous vehicles develop.

Fun fact

Perhaps the most famous example of biomimicry is Velcro. In 1941, engineer George de Mestral was walking his dog when he noticed burrs (like the ones pictured below) sticking to both of them. When he studied the burrs under magnification he found their clinging property was the result of hundreds of tiny hooks. His observation sparked the idea for the very useful invention we know as Velcro fastening.

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What would you create using biomimicry?

Inspiration can be found by land, sea and air! Here are a few more examples of biomimicry:

Down feather insulation. Heavy winter coats are stuffed with down or other feathers so that we can stay warm without flying south for the winter.

Termite mound cooling. The way these tiny insects drill holes in their mounds to cool down in the hot African Savannah has inspired architects to develop buildings that are more efficient.

Humpback whale wind turbines. The ridges on the pectoral fins of humpback whales create an aerodynamic flow in water. They also inspired the shape of wind turbine blades.

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Beetle water collection. The dung beetle may be most popular for other attributes, but it also collects fog on its shell and funnels it to its mouth to drink in arid environments. This has inspired researchers to study how we can pull fresh water from fog or dew.

Spider web glass. A spider’s web is one of the strongest designs in nature. The webbing pattern has been copied by automotive industries so that windshields crack but do not shatter.

Now it’s your turn to create a new innovation based on something found in nature! Be as creative as you want and, with your parent’s permission, tag us on social media @carnegiemnh so we can see what you made!

A Nature Lab blog by Eddie Phillips.

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Centipede or Millipede? What’s the Difference?

Quick, what was that? It scuttled by in a flash, but you caught a few defining characteristics. It had many legs and a long, segmented, wiggling body. You know you’ve seen one before. Was it a centipede or a millipede?

A few unique characteristics help define which of our many-legged friends is which.

centipede specimen

What’s the difference?

Both centipedes and millipedes are made up of segments that link together to form one, long body. With this body form in common, it might be hard to tell the difference between the two at first glance. Here are a few tips to spot the differences:

  • Millipedes have two sets of legs per segment positioned directly under their body. Centipedes have one set of legs per segment positioned on the side of their body.
  • Centipedes mostly eat insects after killing them with their venom. Millipedes feast on decomposing plants.
  • If looking from the side, centipedes have a flatter body while millipedes are more rounded.
  • They respond to threats in different ways. A millipede will coil up and release a smelly secretion. Centipedes can bite (which is typically harmless to humans) and run away quickly.
drawing of a millipede
drawing of a centipede

It’s all in the “family”

These two also have enough in common to make them “cousins” in the animal kingdom.

  • Scientists have grouped them together because of their similar segmented bodies.
  • Both have poor or non-existent vision and rely on other senses, like the feel of vibrations.
  • They prefer to live in dark environments, which is why you may have seen them in an unlit corner of your basement.
  • The longest species of each measure about six inches in length.

Say no to “Nope!”

Of course, they may not be the most pleasant creatures to some folks. There is, however, plenty to observe and you’ll find they really are quite fascinating! At the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Curatorial Assistant Catherine Giles and Collection Assistant Vanessa Verdecia study these animals and many more in the Section of Invertebrate Zoology. Scientists like them across the world could use your help!

There are not many known studies of centipedes or millipedes, even though they are incredibly common and span the globe. Catherine said she would urge people not to say “Nope!” when it comes to centipedes and millipedes. Instead, we should be curious. Studies need to be done in the field with live specimens (ecology) and in labs or offices classifying specimens (taxonomy).

There are more than 3,000 known and an estimated 8,000 species of centipedes. There are upwards of 7,000 known and 80,000 estimated species of millipedes. Millipedes can be found in moist forest areas, while centipedes prefer dry environments. Try and find examples of both species. Take a closer look. Do you notice the differences outlined here? What about the similarities? If you were to study these creatures, would you prefer to be on the scene or in the lab? There’s no wrong answer as long as you don’t say, “Nope!”

Curatorial Assistant Catherine Giles and Collection Assistant Vanessa Verdecia with a box of specimens

Fun Fact

“Milli” is a latin prefix for 1,000 and “centi” is for 100.  Don’t assume that’s exactly how many legs each has on its entire body, though!

Some species of millipedes can have as many as 750 legs. Centipedes can have more than 350 legs.

Learn more in Nature Lab!